Qatar Airways to acquire 33pc of Luxembourg's Cargolux

STATE-OWNED Qatar Airways has unveiled plans to acquire a 33 per cent stake in Cargolux, a Luxembourg all-cargo airline.


According to the carrier's CEO Akbar Al Baker, a deal is expected to be signed in the next few weeks, reports the Press Trust of India (PTI) from Dubai.


"We see there are synergies. Qatar Airways would like to expand and I always said we would only be interested if they are healthy and well-established," Mr Akbar Al Baker said.


"We would not invest in an airline," he said. "No matter how attractive, if it will take my management time and resources to cure a sick individual, we don't want to do that."


The report noted that the carrier in April signed a US$1.3 billion contract with Boeing to buy five 777 aircraft (it already operates 25 of this particular model). Its fleet currently has 97 aircraft, and the report said the airline aims to grow its fleet to more than 120 planes by 2013.


It added that the Middle Eastern carrier announced in March it plans to "hire 11,500 new staff over the next three years to keep pace with an expansion plan that will see it serve 120 destinations by 2013," the report said.
(Source:http://www.schednet.com)